A lodger repeatedly raked a makeshift bonfire in an attempt to sieve out charred bones of his landlady, a court has heard.

Allan Scott, 42, is on trial for the murder of Patricia Holland who had allowed him to lodge with her at her home on Lowestoft Road, Gorleston.

Eastern Daily Press: Pat Holland who died in July 2021Pat Holland who died in July 2021 (Image: Norfolk Constabulary)

Norwich Crown Court has been told he burnt her body in a fire that included a piano from her home in an attempt to fake the 83-year-old’s disappearance so he could continue living in her house.

Giving evidence on Friday, Dr Gaille McKinnon, a world renowned forensic anthropologist and archaeologist, said forensic excavations of the “very high temperature” fire pit site had found 27 bone fragments.

The partial remains included tiny pieces of skull, pelvis, ribs, knee joint and leg and arm bones. 

Eastern Daily Press: Police at Lowestoft Road, Gorleston where the partial remains of Pat Holland were discovered Police at Lowestoft Road, Gorleston where the partial remains of Pat Holland were discovered (Image: Newsquest)

Dr McKinnon said the charred and calcified nature of the remains meant it was not possible to identify the victim’s age and sex.

Mrs Holland had eventually been identified from DNA analysis of a single bone fragment, she told the jury.

Asked whether the bones showed signs of trauma, Dr McKinnon said: “It was impossible to determine given the fragmented and calcified nature of the bones.”

Eastern Daily Press: 27 fragments of human bone were found in a bonfire site but Pat Holland was identified from a single piece27 fragments of human bone were found in a bonfire site but Pat Holland was identified from a single piece (Image: Newsquest)

Marks on the ground and a heavily trodden area of soil indicated there had been “a considerable degree of manipulation” of the bonfire as the remains were burnt, she said. 

“The fire pit was raked through and turned over causing fragmentation and the scattering of human bone,” she added.

The court was told one of the fragments had been discovered in the garden of a next door neighbour.

Eastern Daily Press: Allan Scott has been a lodger at the home of Pat Holland in Lowestoft Road in GorlestonAllan Scott has been a lodger at the home of Pat Holland in Lowestoft Road in Gorleston (Image: Newsquest)

Prosecutors say Scott had become aggressive and violent towards Mrs Holland in the months before her death in July 2021.

The court has heard she had told neighbours and family she had become "really scared" of him and "wanted him out of her home".

The trial continues.